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Post by Nadezhda on May 29, 2020 7:28:05 GMT -5
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Post by kite on May 29, 2020 19:42:57 GMT -5
It's been discussed favorably on the mystery subscription facebook group I follow. I just received the first one (might subscribe to receive future ones if it's as good as they say) and am looking forward to jumping in.
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Post by dmikester on May 29, 2020 20:58:16 GMT -5
I'd love to hear more about what a box is like from someone, especially the online content. If it's really good, I may subscribe for the year.
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Post by macindc on Jun 2, 2020 10:12:37 GMT -5
I'd love to hear more about what a box is like from someone, especially the online content. If it's really good, I may subscribe for the year. I ordered this one. It's not a "box", or at least the first installment wasn't, it was actually a very thickly packed envelope. The puzzles did a very good job moving back and forth between the physical components, SMS text messages, and websites made for the game. It was on the short side (took my wife and I about 2 hours, though we're pretty advanced puzzlers at this point), but was pretty quality. The puzzles were a good middling difficulty level, there was a pretty comprehensive hint system, and the websites did a really good job of pulling you into it's world. (There was a fictional island involved that I thought was real at first!) It also looks like from the members page that there might be some smaller "in-between" mailings between the quarterly installments. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes from this one!
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Post by dmikester on Jun 2, 2020 16:31:32 GMT -5
I'd love to hear more about what a box is like from someone, especially the online content. If it's really good, I may subscribe for the year. I ordered this one. It's not a "box", or at least the first installment wasn't, it was actually a very thickly packed envelope. The puzzles did a very good job moving back and forth between the physical components, SMS text messages, and websites made for the game. It was on the short side (took my wife and I about 2 hours, though we're pretty advanced puzzlers at this point), but was pretty quality. The puzzles were a good middling difficulty level, there was a pretty comprehensive hint system, and the websites did a really good job of pulling you into it's world. (There was a fictional island involved that I thought was real at first!) It also looks like from the members page that there might be some smaller "in-between" mailings between the quarterly installments. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes from this one! Awesome, thank you! Ordering now.
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Post by kite on Jun 2, 2020 19:17:06 GMT -5
It was enjoyable, I though didn't find it quite as immersive or remarkable as other reviewers have. It struck me as fairly similar to a Dispatch Breakout box -- the level of the websites involved felt quite similar to me. I didn't miss the physical components (though I wondered briefly if the coin had originally been intended to be physical), but it felt a bit expensive for something wholly paper-based. But the paper was nice! No context-inappropriate glossy stuff, etc.
I guess Google autocorrecting was a big problem during playtesting (indeed, I'm not sure why they picked the name they did for the thing you're going to need to search for, because Google really wants to change the spelling), but in an effort to head that off, the documentation placed so much emphasis on search engine use that we did it too early in the process, and inadvertently skipped a step in the puzzle.
I enjoyed the interactive component, and it worked quite nicely/seamlessly. At some junctures I was tempted to give some wrong answers and see what happened, just to see how complex it was. Briefly panicked while doing the last puzzle -- it looked like there might really be a timer on it! -- but took a deep breath and made it through. I'm not sure that, in universe, we could have solved that (or the character it was intended for could have), but it was fun. I'm still on the fence about whether to cancel or convert to the annual subscription and save some money. Auto-renewing quarterly is the worst of both worlds, and I wish they'd offered a real one-off order option.
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Post by dmikester on Jun 10, 2020 11:59:13 GMT -5
I finished the first package last night and really enjoyed it. Overall, I thought the puzzle design was very impressive and more complex than I was expecting in terms of having to cross-reference different aspects of the experience when solving. There was one puzzle that didn't work perfectly for me but it was mostly user error on my part. I also found the last puzzle to be very impressive though there was one small narrative aspect of it that didn't make a ton of sense.
I think kite's comparison to Dispatch is dead on; I don't think it was quite as good or as smooth as On the Run was, but it was close and had a similar kind of interactivity and use of multiple technologies, which is high praise from me given that Breakout is maybe my favorite of any of these boxes (outside of C&C of course)! I would for sure recommend this, especially given that there are bonus mailings.
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Post by RoseBlight on Jun 19, 2020 19:20:33 GMT -5
I really, really loved their free online mystery so I figured I'd try at least their first mailing. Judging by their instagram, I appreciate the emphasis on hand-aging. That's a step above Dispatch if you ask me.
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Post by dmikester on Sept 12, 2020 0:59:27 GMT -5
Wow, I just finished the second episode of this and it was FANTASTIC. An amazing variety of puzzles, a huge number of items included (including a beautiful star chart and a really neat and well made chapbook that both have much more than meets the eye), and just some wonderful and inventive puzzle design. I think the thing that most stands out about this to me, beyond the excellent puzzles, is how elegant and immersive it feels; you really feel like you're part of a secret society and solving mysteries. I wish I could go into more specific details, but this is so good, and so full of surprises, that I wouldn't want to spoil anything. Definitely a huge recommendation from me.
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Post by billfelty on Nov 11, 2020 13:40:40 GMT -5
This is ending in 24 hours. It really looks terrific!
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Post by kite on Dec 29, 2020 20:36:30 GMT -5
Returning to the forum after an absence, I have to say I’ve been enjoying this more as it goes on, and don’t have any reservations about the subscription model anymore. They do quality puzzles with nice components and it’s a fun (and pretty immersive) experience. I’m glad I switched to the annual subscription.
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Post by 12jtmg on Jan 24, 2021 23:03:50 GMT -5
I really enjoy these games as well I like to display my games so I have a shelf dedicated to SoC.
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